Darbre Philippa D
Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, The University of Reading, P.O. Box 228, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AJ, UK.
Anticancer Res. 2005 May-Jun;25(3c):2543-50.
The upper outer quadrant (UOQ) of the breast is the most frequent site for incidence of breast cancer, but the reported disproportionate incidence in this quadrant appears to rise with year of publication.
In order to determine whether this increasing incidence in the UOQ is an artifact of different study populations or is chronological, data have been analysed for annual quadrant incidence of female breast cancer recorded nationally in England and Wales between 1979 and 2000 and in Scotland between 1980 and 2001.
In England and Wales, the recorded incidence of female breast cancer in the UOQ rose from 47.9% in 1979 to 53.3% in 2000, and has done so linearly over time with a correlation coefficient R of +0.71 +/- SD 0.01 (p < 0.001). Analysis of independent data from Scotland showed a similar trend in that recorded female breast cancer had also increased in the UOQ from 38.3% in 1980 to 54.7% in 2001, with a correlation coefficient R for the linear annual increase of +0.80 +/- SD 0.03 (p < 0.001).
These results are inconsistent with current views that the high level of UOQ breast cancer is due solely to a greater amount of target epithelial tissue in that region. Identification of the reasons for such a disproportionate site-specific increase could provide clues as to causative factors in breast cancer.
乳腺的上外象限（UOQ）是乳腺癌最常发生的部位，但据报道，该象限不成比例的发病率似乎随着发表年份的增加而上升。
为了确定UOQ发病率的增加是不同研究人群造成的假象还是随时间变化的结果，我们分析了1979年至2000年英格兰和威尔士以及1980年至2001年苏格兰全国记录的女性乳腺癌各象限年发病率数据。
在英格兰和威尔士，UOQ记录的女性乳腺癌发病率从1979年的47.9%上升到2000年的53.3%，且随时间呈线性上升，相关系数R为+0.71±标准差0.01（p<0.001）。对来自苏格兰的独立数据进行分析显示了类似趋势，即记录的UOQ女性乳腺癌发病率也从1980年的38.3%上升到2001年的54.7%，线性年增长率的相关系数R为+0.80±标准差0.03（p<0.001）。
这些结果与当前观点不一致，即认为UOQ乳腺癌高发仅仅是由于该区域有更多的目标上皮组织。确定这种特定部位不成比例增加的原因可能为乳腺癌的致病因素提供线索。
